Fresh Expressions

But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. Acts 3:18-19

The time of refreshing from the Lord is coming! In Acts, this refreshing correlates with God’s people working with the Holy Spirit to develop their new community formed around the advent of Christ, for a new time, with new people, and in new ways. It is a new year, a new mission field, and new leadership here at Cornerstone. In the coming weeks, you will hear more about what the New Leadership Model entails. The New Leadership Model is the term for the change in leadership from pastor only to where I divide my time and responsibilities between being Preschool Director, Pastor of Cornerstone’s Sunday morning congregation and Messy Church/Preschool Families congregation.  Messy Church is a Fresh Expression and represents one of the initiatives of the New Leadership Model. Learn more about Fresh Expressions below. 

“The Fresh Expressions movement was birthed out of the UK in 2004, as a joint initiative of the Church of England and the British Methodist Church. As thousands of new communities formed in the UK alone and established churches began to experience renewal, more denominations began to partner with the work God was doing through these faith communities and the movement spread worldwide into Australia, Canada, South Africa, and beyond. 
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In 2010, the movement began taking shape in the US with the assistance of the Baptist General Association of Virginia and a stateside collaboration of ecumenical partners. In 2014, through the vision and support of Bishop Ken Carter, the movement began to flourish among the people of the Florida United Methodist Conference.
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Fresh Expressions are forms of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church. They come into being through principles of listening, service, contextual mission and making disciples. They have the potential to become a mature expression of church shaped by the Gospel.”
(freshexpressionsfl.org/what-is-fresh-expressions)

In Christ,
Rev. Elyse Milligan Nielsen